It’s been almost a decade since the last mainstage Australian production of Shakespeare’s tragedy of mad monarchy, bad dads, ambitious children and a world unravelling towards apocalypse.
In the intervening years, we have seen the rise and rise of star-casting, as theatre companies compete for our increasingly spare dollars by building productions around big names. International stages have offered up modern Lears, with Ian McKellen in ceremonial military attire and a retinue in fatigues; contemporary Lears, with Glenda Jackson in civvies and Killing Eve’s Danny Sapani in the slick attire of a politician; and even an ancient one, with Kenneth Branagh in animal skins.
